Liming Effect on Growth, Yield, Nutrient Concentration, and Use Efficiency in Chickpea Cultivated in Acidic Oxisol

Chickpea is a highly nutritious crop, but soil acidification poses a major challenge to its yield in highly weathered tropical soils. This study evaluated the impact of liming on chickpea growth, yield, nutrient concentration, and nutrient use efficiency in acidic Oxisols. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse using a completely randomized design with four lime application rates (0.0, 4.0, 8.0, and 12.0 Mg ha⁻¹) to achieve different soil pH and base saturation levels, with four replicates per treatment. Lime application had a significant quadratic response on grain yield (R² = 0.92), increasing 125.7%, 308.8%, and 252.8% compared to the control. The highest grain yield was observed at a pH_CaCl₂ of approximately 5.5 (8.0 Mg ha^{− 1} lime application). Lime application improved yield components, nutrient translocation to seeds, nutrient use efficiency, soil exchangeable Ca^{2 +} and Mg^{2 +}, and other key soil acidity indices. Additionally, it reduced exchangeable Al^{3 +}, Al + H, and Al saturation. The immediate and visible effect of Al and/or H toxicity was a reduction in root growth, limiting plant access to soil water and nutrients and leading to low photosynthetic activity and flower and pod abortion. The estimated optimal conditions for maximum grain yield were pH_CaCl₂ = 5.6 and base saturation = 70%. Liming was found to be an effective strategy to alleviate soil acidification and enhance chickpea growth and yield.